A delicate balance? : a study of work-life conflicts, work-life enrichment, and worklife balance among management consultants in Norway

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship among work-life balance, work-life enrichment, and work-life conflict by looking into the status, condition, and experiences of management consultants in Norway. The need to develop methods to achieve an optimal balance between employees’ productivity, work habits and personal life has sparked numerous studies investigating work-life balance in recent years. Because very few previous studies have dealt with work-life balance in the management consulting sector, we decided to perform such an investigation for the sector where most holders of MSc-degrees in Economics and Business Administration are employed. Through the use of a balanced methodology, i.e., a mixture of the quantitative and qualitative approach, we looked into the plight of management consultants in Norway to examine whether work-life balance is prevalent in this particular sector. Our findings reveal that Work-Life Enrichment and Work-Life Balance exhibit a positive linear relationship. However, this has been substantiated only in companies with strong presence of enrichment programmes, among female workers, line managers and among employees who have variability in work schedules. It can be inferred that clear demands at work, managers who take a direct approach, and well-defined processes and procedures are requisites to achieve work-life balance. Work-Life Conflict and Work-Life Balance did validate a negative correlation. It may be conjectured that the introduction of such work-life conflicts lead to an individual adapting to the situation, driving him/her to find the right balance between work and personal affairs, hence cause a decrease in work-life balance. This negative correlation has also been proven to exist among the following groups: males, non-line managers, single employees, and no variability of work schedule.nhhma